Experiencing Medical Procedures as Healing Adventures
BY ARLENE HARDER, MA, MFT
Getting through treatment for any illness is much easier when you recognize the power of choice and how to participate in medical procedures.
Please Note: This article was originally written for cancer patients but is also very applicable to anyone who has a serious or chronic illness.
The Power of Choice
All of us, except hypochondriacs, avoid visiting clinics, doctor's offices and hospitals as much as possible. Part of the reason is because being sick simply isn't any fun. Another reason, however, is that many people not only fear needles, they dread all medical procedures. Why? Because they assume they have no choice and must passively suffer through invasive diagnostic tests, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy while their body is worked on by outside forces.
That, of course, is the crux of the matter. They think of medical procedures as something "done to them," rather than something they have chosen and in which they can actively participate.
"Choose? Choose? I didn't choose to have this procedure done!," you protest. "I have to do it."
Granted, cancer treatment is not in the same league as elective surgery for face lifts and tummy tucks. But consider this. If given the choice to go through heavy-duty chemotherapy - or - to wash the kitchen floor one-hundred times on your hands and knees, you'd reach for the bucket and sponge. Unfortunately, you weren't given those alternatives. But you are given the opportunity to select some kind of treatment or to let the cancer continue growing inside your body.
So unless you will be hog-tied and dragged to the doctor's office, you have agreed to take part in the treatment. In fact, your agreement is under your control, even if it feels as though someone else (your doctor or your spouse) has pressured you into the decision. And if they have? Then it's important to realize that choosing to let someone else decide the treatment you will have is something that is under your control.
Let's face it, there's much in life we do even though we'd rather not. There is also much in life that we aren't aware we've chosen. When the chocolate piece mysteriously appears in our hand (we surely didn't put it there), we feel obligated to eat it. And we'd rather not admit we choose to say words of anger and blame that come out of our mouths.
Most of the time it doesn't matter greatly if we're not conscious of our choices. In creating a medical procedure so that it becomes a healing adventure, however, it is very important. Why? Because when you affirm your choice of a treatment, you increase the effectiveness of the procedure. Through a process we don't understand, but which research on the placebo effect demonstrates, acknowledging you've chosen the procedure and expecting it to be successful engages your body's natural healing ability so that it can better cooperate with whatever is being done.
If you would you like to experience surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy as a healing adventure so that you can get maximum results from the procedures, please read the following five steps.
Step One: Acknowledging the Choice You Have Made
This first step asks you to reflect on your reason for choosing to have the particular medical procedure you are planning. In anticipation of pain and discomfort, you may have forgotten you have decided to undergo the stress of the treatment or test - because you believe it may rid your body of cancer, reduce the size of a tumor, or simply help you feel better. Choosing to have treatment for cancer is in a whole different category than the decision to have a tummy tuck or face lift. Without medical treatment, a tumor will continue to grow and eventually be fatal as it takes over vital organs.
When you are clear about your reasons, think of a sentence that best reflects those reasons. For example, you might want to say, "I choose this treatment because it is a powerful tool in my fight for recovery, for healing, and for health." Since you will be using this sentence in Step Five, you may want to write the sentence on a piece of paper you can carry with you.
However, if, after reviewing all your reasons, you don't feel good about having a particular procedure done, stop and consider your choice. It may be that if you force your body to undergo something you don't believe is good for it, you will be working at cross-purposes with your body's natural healing ability. This is not to imply that if you're not wildly enthusiastic about surgery that you should instead sit on a hilltop and meditate. Nevertheless, your uneasiness is a signal that you would do well to get a second, or even third, opinion before you proceed. There may be several medical options that would fit you better than the one you are planning.
Step Two: Get Your Questions Answered
In order to hold in your mind the most positive outcome, you may first need to have some questions addressed by your medical team. After all, it is your body and your right to know what someone else is planning to do to it. The more clear you are about what will happen before, during and after the procedure, the easier it will be for your body to cooperate.
Any experienced nurse will tell you that the patients who have the least anxiety are often those who know the most about what might happen. Of course, we're not talking here about knowing all the gruesome details of every possible side-effect, no matter how rare. But if you know that a part of the procedure that causes discomfort doesn't usually last longer than fifteen minutes, you can tell yourself that you can handle fifteen minutes. On the other hand, if you don't know this fact when the discomfort begins, you may tense up in the expectation that it will continue for hours, which can cause you more severe discomfort than you otherwise would experience.
Therefore, assuming you are clear about your decision to proceed with the treatment you've scheduled, the next step in creating a healing adventure is to make certain that all your questions get answered. Make a list of everything you want to know and take the list with you to your doctor or give him or her a call.
Some questions might be, "Is any part of the procedure likely to be uncomfortable or painful and for how long?" and "What will the doctor do about it and what can I do to feel more comfortable?" It is also a good idea to tell the staff that you want to be informed if there is going to be a delay in the procedure or if something is going to be done differently than they originally thought.
Step Three: Rallying Your Support Team
Asking for help is not always easy for some people, especially those who have been responsible for the care of others. A woman who has been taught that her role in life is to meet the needs of her children may have a hard time getting her own needs met. n fact, she may not realize that just as she takes pleasure from giving to others, her family would, in all likelihood, take pleasure in giving to her - if only they knew what she wanted. A man who has been taught to keep a stiff upper lip and always be in control may not realize the unnecessary pressure he places on his body by denying himself the support that others are ready to give - if only he could acknowledge his need for that support.
You may not fit either of these more extreme, although not uncommon cases, but still have difficulty in letting others know what you would like from them. You've undoubtedly had times when you learned a friend could have used your help, help you would have been only too glad to give, but you didn't know it was needed. You had to be told before you could act. Likewise, your family and friends are glad to be your cheering section and give you a hand with whatever helps you most In fact, at this very moment some of them may be planning to help you in a way that you don't actually want or need.
So the third step toward the creation of a positive medical experience is to carefully consider the emotional support and practical help you would like from family and friends. Then tell them. At the very least, you can ask them to think of you on the day of your treatment. Knowing prayers and good vibes are coming your way can help you set the tone for a healing adventure
Step Four: Creating an Atmosphere of Hope
When a friend of mine took her licensing orals, she wore her husband's jockey shorts. They boosted her morale and put a smile on her face as she thought, "You examiners may have the power to ask me whatever you want, but there's something about me you'll never know." This secret gave her self-confidence and she sailed through the rigorous ordeal.
Similarly, you can set the stage for a positive outcome of a medical procedure by bringing with you reminders of friendship, healing and wholeness. This could be a favorite book or inspirational poem, photograph, stuffed animal, favorite piece of jewelry, special prayer, or tapes for music and relaxation. Since laughter helps the medicine go down, you might want to consider something humorous, although you may not be brave enough to go as far as one patient who painted a smiling face on his abdomen before going into surgery.
Carefully choose something that has special meaning to you so that it can be a talisman of love, healing, courage and connection with others. Then, when the day of the procedure arrives, you may be pleasantly surprised to notice how much this item or items can create an atmosphere of hope that the procedure will go as smoothly as possible.
Step Five: Reinforcing Steps One Through Four
After you've completed Steps One through Four, it's time to do a little practicing so you can comfortably cooperate with whatever needs to be done when the time comes. Just as an actor reviews his lines over and over in order for his part to be convincing, your potential for experiencing a medical procedure as a healing adventure will improve with practice.
This fifth step, therefore, is Rehearsing Your Healing Adventure, a pre-procedure review technique that thousands of people have used to reduce their anxiety of medical procedures so they can be powerful and effective tools for recovery and wholeness.
© Copyright 1997, Revised 2002, Arlene Harder, MA, MFT |
